Grow-your-own guide aims to transform derelict land

A new "grow-your-own" guide for Londoners is showing people how to turn derelict and unused land into vegetable patches.

It is hoped that the Lewisham council blueprint could be used to create hundreds of mini-market gardens across London.

The guide explains how to get permission to use land and how to secure the site, which vegetables grow best and how to organise communities to run a garden.

It outlines how to create beekeeping gardens, orchards and "grow bag" plots for small spaces.

The guide was created to boost the number of community gardens in Lewisham. It advises that schools, housing projects and places of worship are often ideal locations. Mayor Sir Steve Bullock said he hoped it could be published across the capital: "We want people to find derelict land, unused ground or even just a place they can put some bags of soil.

"The key thing is getting permission to use the land, and we can act as a broker, wherever possible, to get the necessary permission.

"We can also put people in touch with experts to help them with the practicalities of growing the right plants."

Lewisham aims to create 2,012 new food-growing spaces in the capital by 2012.